Saga froze like a baby deer.
The bloodthirsty lynx she'd once caught was a spring daisy compared to the writhing barbed wire of an arachnid abomination that stared at her. Its flesh appeared sickly gray covered in scars and matted hair. Filthy talons extended from its elongated and slightly twisted legs making it look primal. Its armored arms had oversized pincers at the end. And its face, oh Narld, its face was a collection of round and shining black eyes, folded pink flesh, and black parted jaws filled with knife-like teeth. The monster trembled with rage as it fixed her with a glare from its many eyes…and growled.
"…run…"
Spoke that feminine voice in her ears like a distant echo. She snapped to attention. She immediately hooked an arrow and fired at the monster. The arrow flew towards the monster's face. It shielded its face with one of its arms. The arrow pierced through its armored hand but failed to reach its face. The arachnid screamed in pain, then used its elongated and spiked legs to quickly skitter towards Saga.
She spun on her feet and darted through the trees. The arachnid tore after her, snapping its pincers, making an unsettling noise sounding like nails on a chalkboard. The arachnid was quick with its elongated legs. Saga couldn't outrun it. When it came in range, it swiped its arms.
A huge pincer smashed into Saga like a boulder. She flew into the nearby bushes, the bow slipping out of her grasp. Pain flared on her right side as she lay in the bushes. Groaning, she propped herself upright to see the arachnid's arrival. She let out a scream as one of the arachnid's legs stomped on her chest and pinned her to the ground. Its hairy legs were uglier up close. Her scream was cut short as her breath was knocked out, feeling like she was caught in a landslide.
The arachnid brought its pincer-like claws towards Saga's neck, to decapitate her. When she realized what the arachnid was about to do, Saga gritted her teeth, pulled out her hunting knife, and buried it into its hairy and spiked leg. One of the spikes pierced her wrist. But the act saved her life.
The arachnid screamed in pain and jerked backward as if it had stepped on lava. It kicked its feet in the air to shake off the pain, but Saga had buried the seven-inch knife into its leg down to the guard.
While the arachnid danced around in pain, Saga pulled herself up from the bushes. With ragged breaths, she ran towards her home in the town. It was just beyond the forest. If she could somehow reach there, she'd be saved…
The arachnid screamed. Saga looked over her shoulders, and she shivered in fear. The arachnid had leaped off the ground using its many powerful legs, its pedipalps extended towards Saga, aiming to impale or crush her thin body.
Saga realized she was going to die. The arachnid would fall on her in seconds, and kill her. That realization brought time to a near halt, a shift to the colors of what she was witnessing over her shoulders while she ran. The trees and the grass-covered ground looked dark as nightfall, the sky was red and bright like amber, and at the center was the flying arachnid, hurtling towards her, but now frozen in the air. It was as if she was staring at a painted nightmare.
In slow motion, a pair of blade-ended chains shot into the frozen scene from the right flank. The chains swung downward at an arc from the sky, the blades passing through the arachnid's body. Saga watched in awe as the blades severed the arachnid's head and split its upper body in half. The scene unfroze and pieces of the arachnid fell in a gruesome pile before her, spattering blood on her face and clothes.
She screamed, then went tumbling over the ground.
She rose from the forest floor with a buzz in her head, must've hit the ground during the fall. She closed her eyes while remaining seated, trying to steady herself.
"Are you okay, child?"
Saga looked up to see a woman standing in front of her. Her eyes widened in awe. The woman's skin was blue!
"Y-yeah," said Saga, her eyes shifting from the stranger to the pile of severed appendages, spilling innards and pooling blood of the dead arachnid. "Was that you? Did you do that?"
"I did," replied the woman.
"You saved me!" breathed Saga. Then met her eyes. "You saved my life!"
The woman's face was inexpressive. But her azure skin shimmered like lake water at noon. Her hair was silvery smoke falling around her oblong face. A peculiarly crafted golden half-armor shielded her ample bosom. Skinny leather pants accentuated her curves. She was mesmerizingly beautiful.
"Can you get up?" asked the woman, offering her a hand.
Saga nodded.
When she took the offered hand, she was pulled up to her feet. The woman had a firm grip and harsh palms. Saga felt light in her head for a moment and staggered. The woman caught her arm, helping her to find balance.
"Are you feeling alright?" The woman looked concerned.
"Yeah," Saga said, taking long breaths. "I'll be fine. Thanks!"
"Don't mention it." The woman nodded at the dead arachnid. Its carcass was already starting to emit black smoke as it evaporated. Soon, there would be nothing left but warm ashes. "This thing will start to smell. It'll be real bad, worse than a rotting corpse."
"Really?" Saga made a disgusted face.
The woman looked her up and down. Her beautiful violet eyes narrowed beneath perfect eyebrows. Saga began to notice the permanently etched frown on the woman's forehead, slightly sunken cheek, razor-sharp jawline, and long pointy ears rising upwards and moving as if the woman were a cat. She felt her admiration smothered under the arctic intimidation projected from the woman's eyes. Suddenly, she was reminded of her aunty Yrsa.
"Why did you come here?" The woman's gaze fixed on the quiver strapped to Saga's back.
Saga realized that she had not only lost her bow but also her quiver was empty. The arrows must have fallen out while the arachnid was attacking her.
"Um, I came here to get some meat for my parent's death anniversary feast," Saga replied cautiously.
The woman held her gaze. "Do you know who put up that monster trap?"
"Um-"
There's something in the woman's tone that caused her to hesitate to answer. Wait a second… monster trap? I didn't set up any monster trap. It's for capturing large animals like deer and stuff...
"Because I'd like to take the thumb of their dominant hand as punishment," said the woman calmly. "To put up untended low-quality traps from which monsters can escape is the work of a fool who brings great harm not only to themselves but to others around them. So, it's best to permanently disable them."
Saga felt a sinking sensation in her stomach. "Don't you think the punishment is a bit too…extreme?"
The woman shrugged. "Not where I come from."
Saga stared at her. "Yeah, I have no idea who put up that trap. But I'll let you know as soon as I find out."
"Alright." The woman frowned. "Are you aware that your hand is bleeding?"
"What?" Saga looked down and startled. A narrow stream of blood trickled out of a wound on her right wrist and dripped down her fingertip. "I'm bleeding! But I don't feel pain…"
"That arachnid must have been poisonous," the woman said as she produced a two-inch-long vial containing glowing clear liquid in her hand.
Does she have an artifact bag? Saga was amazed. Artifacts couldn't be mass-produced in a mill, so generally, it cost an arm and a leg to procure one.
"Here." The woman held up the vial in front of Saga's face. "Drink. It'll fix you."
Saga quickly raised her hands. "Oh, I couldn't. It's yours and you'll need it-"
The woman poked Saga's cheek with the vial. "I can spare this one. Drink."
"Are you sure?" When the woman nodded, Saga reluctantly accepted. "Well, if you're sure it's alright." A brilliantly refreshing flowery smell washed over her senses as she popped the cork. Saga inhaled, already feeling better. She eagerly downed the entire vial.
"Wow!" A laugh escaped Saga as she experienced a rush of good feelings. She no longer felt lightheaded, which meant that her blood pressure level and all physical functions had returned to normal. She held up her wrist just in time to see the wound close up in a hurry. "It's already healed!"
Her smile vanished. "Ma'am-"
"Call me Sill," said the woman.
"Miss Sill, this healing potion is A-grade with high-speed regeneration. It costs 50 gold coins-"
"You know your potions." Sill nodded approvingly.
"Please, Miss Sill, you must allow me to pay you back-"
"I'm not in dire need of gold, child," said Sill. "What I require is an address."
"Who's address?"
Sill nodded in the direction of the town nearby. "I heard she moved to that town beyond the forest. Her name is Genevieve Montgomery."
Saga's eyes lit up. "I know her! She is my teacher. I can take you to her if you'd like."
"Just the address will be fine. I need to finish some business before I head into that town." Sill paused, then added, "She's a friend of mine. I haven't seen her in ages. I came a long way to see how she's doing these days."
"Oh, I see!" said Saga with enthusiasm. "Then my teacher will be really happy to see you. She lives alone in her big house. Aside from us few students, she doesn't really talk to anyone in the town. She's always very quiet and keeps to herself when we're not around."
"That's strange," Sill said. "That's not how I remember her at all. She was so lively the last time I saw her."
Sill produced a blank page and an artifact quill that magically produced ink.
How many artifacts does she have? Saga thought. Her weapon, her bag, and even her quill is an artifact? Not to mention the A-grade healing potion that she just gave away. She really isn't hurting for money, is she?
Saga wrote down her teacher's address on the blank page and returned it with the artifact quill. "Here's the address. I drew you a little map."
Sill gave the hint of a smile. "What's your name, child?"
"I apologize, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Saga. Saga Norn. And I live in the havensol town."
"Nice to meet you, Saga." Sill extended her arm.
Saga held it and hesitantly asked, "Pardon me, Miss, but you are an elf, right?"
"I am, indeed."
So, she's an elf? Thought Saga. Well, she has all the features of a typical elf. Except for the color of her skin. It reminded her of the djinns from the sea of sands.
"Please be careful when you go into the town," said Saga. "The townsfolk are on high alert nowadays. On edge for some reason. They're cautious of foreigners. And if they see an unusual elf like you, they might react poorly." She added quickly, "I meant no disrespect by-"
"And you're not?" Sill cut across her. "Afraid of me?"
Saga shook her head. "Aunty Yrsa didn't raise me to be a racist. You're people just like us."
"Is that so?" A full smile appeared on Sill's face. She studied the girl. She couldn't be older than sixteen. Five-two height, petite, slender but toned, looking wiry and athletic.
Subtle glow on the smooth fair skin, giving her a delicate look, which was odd since her hunting gear suggested she was an outdoorsy girl.
She wore down her slightly tousled dark brown hair, adding a touch of softness to her appearance. Her hair framed her face in loose waves, giving her a down-to-earth, approachable look.
There was a bit of a roundness to her soft and slightly oval-shaped face, which made her look even younger than her age. Her eyebrows were slightly arched and expressive. She has large, wide-set eyes that draw attention, giving her an observant, intense gaze that conveys high intelligence and curiosity. The icy gray color of her eyes marked her as a descendent of the ancient Kings of the Frost.
Her medium-full lips had a natural pink hue, now set in a focused, serious expression hinting at her thoughtful personality.
But there was a distinct lack of fear in the icy gray of her eyes. Sill did not feel impressed. What if I were a kidnapper? A little fear goes a long way. Only fools are fearless. She said, "A word of advice, child. Beware of strangers. Not all of them come with good intentions. Farewell."
Sill turned and walked away towards the deep forest.
With a bit of a bewildered feeling, Saga watched the strange woman disappear into the dense woods.
She suddenly remembered something, and shouted, "My turkeys!"